Meeting the Father
by withgirl
Summary: Regina introduces her father to Emma just before he moves on. [One-Shot] [Emma X Regina pairing, established Swan Queen]
**Hey guys, I know I've been gone for a while and I'm sorry to say that I can't update until I've finished some assignments, so until further notice, I'll probably be doing random one-shots.**

 **I'll try to be back updating my fics as soon as possible.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy and don't hesitate to send ideas for short one-shots :)**

"Is this my grandson?" Henry Sr. asked in awe as he allowed his eyes to travel the lanky teenager.

The younger Henry didn't even bother to hold back his smile at the man and replied, "hi, grandpa."

Regina looked between the two in disbelief for a moment. She had yet to come to terms with the fact that she was indeed in the underworld, speaking with the man whom she had missed dearly for the past three decades. It was more than surreal that after all of this time she had been given a reason to no longer feel the crippling guilt any time she thought of her father. Now she could remember the fond memories and smile instead of having the sudden urge to cry and then having to desperately resist it because she didn't want anyone to know that she still thought about him almost all of the time.

Her smile widened as her son walked over to his father and she saw that the brunette wasn't too far off being taller than him. They embraced for a moment before the younger of the two pulled back and looked over at his mother obviously expecting her to say something. Instead, he saw happy tears so close to falling down her cheeks and he shot her a reassuring look to tell her that she was allowed to show emotion.

Henry Sr. watched as silent tears ran down his daughter's face and he tried to remember the last time that he had seen her show that level of emotion. He smiled sadly when he realised that during the era of the Evil Queen, she would have never been willing to crack a genuine smile, with the exception of the birthday when she had thought that her mother had procured her the heart of Snow White. At the thought, his eyes widened and he inspected Henry Jr's face again, it didn't take long to see the resemblance.

Regina noticed his expression and she smiled at his shook, she honestly wouldn't believe what was about to come out of her mouth if she hadn't lived it, "Snow and Charming are also Henry's grandparents."

Her father blinked at the information, before he just nodded slowly, he was sure that he would need some time to think through the implications of this and the moment before he was about to move on from this place was certainly not the time.

He was about to reach out, as if prompting her to come forward into his arms, but the attention of the trio was stolen by the sound of footsteps from the entrance.

Regina's looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at the blonde, "I told Snow to not tell you, Emma," she sighed.

Emma just shook her head and walked further into the cavern, not quite recognising that there was a third person whom she didn't know.

Instead, she replied, "she actually tried this time…"

"Do not say the word superpower," Regina quickly said with a raised finger.

The saviour just smirked and shook her head again, before she said, "you should have told me what was going on…I could have helped…"

"If you had found Hook before my mother's deadline then it would have made no difference," the mayor Storybrooke pointed out. She had admittedly at first not been happy about her girlfriend's wish to travel to the Underworld to save Hook. She had not said anything because she knew she was being childish. Emma and Killian may have dated for about a month, but they had soon decided that it wasn't right and had defied all expectations by becoming very close friends. Objectively, she had no issue with the two of them spending time together, at least after a while. She and the sheriff had been together for over a year and she knew that if she had been the one to have been sent down here, then the blonde wouldn't even have needed time to think about it before she had travelled to the Underworld. It was for this reason that she had silently put aside her worries and had been trying to be as helpful as possible, so she could get back to the life that had been so perfect before the whole Dark One business. She only hoped that their plan to get him out of the Underworld would work, though she had been sceptical had suggested that Hook and Tinkerbell would be capable of sharing a heart.

"Still Regina…" Emma began, but she realised that there was nothing she could say to convince the woman, she had resigned herself a while ago to the fact that she wouldn't be winning many arguments now that she was so deeply in love with Regina Mills.

They just stared at each for a moment, before the two males across the cavern cleared their throats at the same time.

Regina looked back over at the two Henrys and Emma did the same. Her eyes briefly looked over her son, before they passed over to the man that she didn't recognise, though she had a good idea of who he was.

The blonde's throat instantly constricted. She had never really gotten to the 'meeting the parents' stage of any of her relationships and so far she hadn't really been with many people who had the ability to introduce her. She tried to remember how Snow and David had acted towards Regina when they had found out, but that wasn't really helping considering how long they had known the woman. She literally had no idea what to expect from the man she had heard so little about, it should have bothered her that Regina was so unwilling to talk about her past, though she had recently begun mentioning small things. The saviour would have had the urge to push for more information if it wasn't for the fact that she had the same apprehension about her past and also the fact that she had met Cora.

At the same time, the older Henry's eyes travelled over the new comers face and then he looked back over to his grandson. His eyes quickly flicked between the boy and woman and a smile began to tug at the corner of his lips when anything fell into place. Somehow it made complete sense even though he would have never once thought of the possibility. The woman who his daughter had referred to as Emma was so clearly the child of Snow White and Prince Charming. He imagined that there was a chance that she was simply some form of co-parents to the boy, but the way that they looked at each other left little doubt that their relationship was far more than that, and he couldn't believe how perfect they so obviously were for each other.

His gaze shifted to the brunette who was wearing a worried expression and he instantly knew that she was worried about his approval. He felt his stomach fall when he remembered what Cora had done to get rid of their daughter's 'tendencies', since she didn't want to have to deal with the possibility of no grandchildren. The woman was so obsessed with her blood becoming part of a royal lineage and he sincerely wished that he had been brave enough to have protect Regina's right to be who she was.

He took a deep breath and said in the kindest tone possible, "and who might you be?"

Relief passed over the former Evil Queen's face and she turned to see her girlfriend was looking for reassurance. She smiled at the blonde and quickly clasped her hand in her, though she didn't want to admit that she was just trying to confirm that her father truly understood. When his expression didn't change to one of disapproval, she lightly pulled the saviour across the cavern to the two Henrys.

"Father, this is Emma Swan," she explained, clasping the woman's hand tighter supportively.

The blonde swallowed hard and said the first thing that came to her mind, "it's an honour to meet you…sir."

The man smiled even more widely at the blonde. A million things to say ran through his mind, but none of it seemed strong enough.

So he just walked forward and brought her into a hug, trying not to laugh when he noticed that she gripped Regina's hand even more tightly for support. After a moment, she relaxed into the embrace, since she knew that she would never have another chance to do this and it so obviously meant so much to the woman she loved.

After a few short moments, Henry Sr. released her, but not before whispering, "thank you."

A huge smile spread across Emma's face when she realised that he was thanking her for making his daughter happy.

The man then turned to the brunette beside him and Emma finally let go of her hand as she went over to stand next to their son, placing her arm around the boy who shot her a quick grin. He would probably be mocking her when they were finally home for how nervous she had been, but now was the time to allow his mother to say goodbye to her father.

Regina easily allowed herself to be enveloped in a hug and she felt every guilty thought evaporate, she was finally getting closure she needed. It was also abundantly clear that Henry Sr. was far more willing to move on now that he saw that his child had finally found her happy ending.

"Goodbye, daddy," she said through the lump in her throat.

"Goodbye, my child," he replied, hugging her more tightly for a few more seconds, before he pulled back and brought up his hand to wipe a few tears off her face.

The brunette leaned into his touch for the last time and he reluctantly took a step away from her.

He spared a quick look over to Emma and Henry, as if to reassure himself that he was leaving Regina in good hands, before he walked over to the bright swirling portal.

He stopped before it just to get one more look at Regina, offering her one last smile before he stepped forward.

Regina watched him disappeared and took a deep breath when the portal disappeared.

The remaining trio stood completely still and in silence for a full two seconds before Henry and Emma simultaneously decided to go cross the cavern.

Henry brought his arms around his mother and Emma was right behind him, bringing them both into a hug.

"It's okay, mom," the youngest among them whispered.

The other brunette took a shaky breath and allowed herself to smile slightly when she saw the two sets of caring green eyes.

"I know," she sighed.

 **Let me know what you though :)**


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